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Golden Raspberry Awards

The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known in short terms as Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a mock award in recognition of the worst in film. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film-industry veterans, John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day. The term raspberry in the name is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry". The awards themselves are in the form of a "golf ball-sized raspberry" atop a Super 8 mm film reel, all spray painted gold.

Approximately three dozen people came to the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards.[4] The 2nd Golden Raspberry Awards had double the attendance as the first and the 3rd awards ceremony had double this number.[4] By the 4th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, CNN and two major wire services covered the event.[1] Wilson realized that by scheduling the Golden Raspberry Awards before the Academy Awards, the ceremony would get more press coverage: "We finally figured out you couldn't compete with the Oscars on Oscar night, but if you went the night before, when the press from all over the world are here and they are looking for something to do, it could well catch on," he said to BBC News.[1]

The term raspberry is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry".[5] Wilson commented to the author of Blame It on the Dog: "When I registered the term with the Library of Congress in 1980, they asked me, 'Why raspberry? What's the significance of that?' But since then, razz has pretty much permeated the culture. We couldn't have done it without Hollywood's help."[5] Wilson is referred to as "Ye Olde Head Razzberry".[6]

Paying members of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation vote to determine the recipients.[7] For the 29th Golden Raspberry Awards in 2009, award results were based on votes from approximately 650 journalists, cinema fans and professionals from the film industry.[7][8] Voters hailed from 45 states in the United States and 19 other countries.[9]

Every decade-closing ceremony includes an award for the worst actors and movies of the decade—though the 2000 ceremony put the actors as worst of the 20th century instead. Special prizes for the 25th anniversary of the Razzies awards were also given out in 2005.

This is a special award given by Razzie Award Governor John J. B. Wilson to an individual whose achievements are not covered by the Razzies' other categories. It was awarded in 2003 to Travis Payne for "Distinguished Under-Achievement in Choreography" in the film From Justin to Kelly.[22]

This award is given to a critical and financial failure that would've been nominated if it had received an eligible release. It was awarded in 2016 to United Passions[23][24] and in 2017 to Misconduct.[25]

The Razzies have received criticism, including from news sources such as Indiewire[26] and The Daily Telegraph,[27] for several issues, including that members of the Golden Raspberry Foundation are not required to watch the nominated movies,[26] and that seemingly anyone can join the Golden Raspberry Foundation, so long as they pay at least $40,[26] which is different from the invitation-only Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[28] Critics take issue with the Razzies picking "easy targets" and mainstream films instead of those perceived as less popular but more deserving productions,[29] continuing to appeal to celebrities, seemingly for publicity and attention, over other, worthier films and performances.[26]

Sam Adams of Indiewire has said the Razzies are "like hecklers hurling insults at comedians or a concertgoer yelling out 'Whoo!' during a quiet song, they're not-so-secretly crying out to be noticed. The Razzies, properly enough, avoid pouncing on the little guy; they don't trash no-budget indies no one has seen for having bad lighting or terrible sound".[26] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph has said "the Razzies' ongoing failure to train its sights on anything but the most obvious targets means it grows more tired and redundant by the year".[27]CraveOnline's William Bibbiani stated that the Razzies follow "a cheap shot of pranksterism", and "with only a handful of exceptions, only seen fit to nominate the most infamous movies of the year, and not necessarily the worst."[29] Carolyn Burke of Cracked.com describes the awards as "...a ramshackle operation run by a bunch of lazy trolls who are guilty of all the same smug self-importance they claim to be lampooning" and further states that "the Razzies are an antiquated 'joke' that has long outlived any goodwill or relevance they once had, and have become nothing more than a mean-spirited cesspool of joyless criticism worse than any of the movies they tear down with artless comedy."[30]